Effects of Parent-Child Dialogic Reading with Digital English Storybooks: A Qualitative Study in Chinese Context

While many studies have investigated parent-child dialogic reading in first language settings through quantitative methods, limited qualitative studies have explored children’s language outcomes in English as a foreign language contexts, especially with digital English storybooks. This study delved into the effects of dialogic reading with digital English storybooks in Chinese context via video recordings of 20 parent-child dyads’ dialogic reading sessions over eight weeks and semi-structured interviews on parents. Results identified three key outcomes: First, children’s vocabulary gains displayed a distinction between receptive and expressive words, with receptive vocabulary improvement being more prominent in Chinese context. Second, reading comprehension enhancement was observed across literal, inferential, and evaluative levels. Third, children’s engagement were presented through three dimensions: verbal, physical, and affective aspects. Among verbal engagement, pronouncing new words frequently is unique in EFL context. Besides, children exhibited different degrees of physical engagement. It is noted that overly formal instruction may decrease children’s affective engagement. These findings contribute to understanding the effects of digital dialogic reading practices in EFL contexts, providing insights for the implementation of English storybook reading to promote early English literacy.